http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/Reports/Other%20Reports/CAVR_%20LIA/cavr_evaluation(e).pdf JUDICIAL SYSTEM MONITORING PROGRAMME Unfulfilled Expectations: Community Views on CAVR's Community Reconciliation Process 'The Value of a House and Buffalo is not the same as the value of a Human Being' Victim, Suai Dili, East Timor August 2004 Table of Contents Introduction and Aims The contribution of JSMP Methodology Research Design Respondents Language Study Location and Duration Questions of Confidentiality Recognising complexity The voices of victims Deponents Perspectives The impact in deponents' lives Extent of Sense of Closure A Process 'Incomplete' Pressures Upon Deponents Victims Perspectives Victims Prepared to Accept Victims of More than One Crime Victims of Serious Crimes Opening up our wounds Other factors influencing victims' acceptance The importance of full disclosure of acts More than shaking hands: the need for economic justice Type of personal harms suffered The Acts of Reconciliation The Place of Victims within the CRP process The role of victims in the reconciliation process Victim preparation The role of the Victim Support Unit The Urgent Reparations Program Other Issues: Women in the reconciliation process Female commissioners and panel members Female victims and deponents Understandings of reconciliation and justice 3 Key issues for the future: building social cohesion? Continuation of the CRP The potential for future violence The problem of the 'pending' cases Conclusions Recommendations Recommendations Serious Crimes The continuation of the serious crimes investigations process is of critical importance to the success and credibility of any ongoing reconciliation process. Establishing accountability for serious crimes committed during 1999 continues to be a fundamental priority for many East Timorese people. For many it remains premature to contemplate 'reconciliation' until 'justice' has been served. Any decision to continue the CRP should be carefully considered in the light of the current levels of commitment to the serious crimes investigation and prosecution process. A coordinated strategy towards both justice and reconciliation (including a strategy for dealing with those perpetrators outside of the jurisdiction of East Timor) is essential. In the absence of a functioning serious crimes process, a reconciliation process will only serve to raise peoples' hopes; leading to a sense of injustice, confusion, unfulfilled expectations and the possibility of future violence. Developing a Victim-Centred Approach Discussions on future CRP- type processes should pay greater attention to victims' rights and the role of victims in the process generally. In its focus on the deponent reconciling with the 'community' the CRP has tended to exclude the critical voice of the individual victim. It is suggested that the notion of 'community' itself is one that needs further scrutiny, as communities themselves are comprised of individuals. Given that the majority of East Timorese people live in close proximity to one another in a web of complex community relationships, particular attention is needed to ensure that individual needs are not ignored and subsumed to the 'greater good' of the community. In order to develop an approach more sensitive to victims' needs the following measures are suggested: 1. The policy decision regarding immunity from future civil and criminal liability following a CRP should be revisited; 2. The policy decision that victims' consent is not required in the concluding of Community Reconciliation Agreements should be revisited; 3. Greater attention should be given to developing policy guidelines on the types of 'Acts of Reconciliation' acceptable for particular crimes to ensure greater consistency and fairness. In developing these, 'Acts' that are of direct benefit to individual victims should be given greater consideration; 4. The development of clear and consistent policy guidelines on the conduct of victims' briefings is essential. It is essential that victims' briefings explain the legal implications of the process and the rights of victims, particularly if immunity from civil and criminal prosecution is granted to deponents; 5. Clear policies on victim and witness protection should be developed and training on these provided to all staff; 6. Consideration should be given to locating the function of 'victim support' more centrally within the organization and linking it more closely to the 'reconciliation' function. 7 More research should be undertaken into the types of crimes more likely to be acceptable to victims through a CRP-type process. In particular, crimes that have resulted in personal injury would benefit from further scrutiny. Clear internal procedures should be introduced to consider whether a particular 'grey area' crime should proceed through a CRP. Greater rights should also be accorded to victims as to whether the cases of such a nature should proceed through a CRP. Improving Quality and Consistency The strict timeframes under which the CRP process operated often resulted in an emphasis on quantity rather than quality of hearings. In discussion of future CRP-types processes, greater attention to quality is essential to ensure consistency of the process. This would include: more focus on the preparation and briefing of victims and deponents; greater attention to the training of CAVR staff and commissioners to ensure thorough understanding of legal issues and policy guidelines; a commitment to internal monitoring of hearings and regular training of staff based on monitoring results. Gender Longer timeframes and greater attention to quality of hearings would also assist in encouraging greater numbers of women deponents and victims to participate in the process. In addition, gender training for staff should be mandatory. Training should include: how to encourage women's participation in hearings by allocating specific time for women to speak; scheduling hearings at times convenient to women; coordinating with local women's organisations to access women deponents and victims; and ensuring support for women before, during and after hearings. Pending cases There are concerns about the safety of both victims and deponents in relation to the so- called 'pending' cases. Currently 111 such cases remain with the Office of the General Prosecutor and the likelihood of future legal action is slim. Many 'pending' cases are not among the priority cases of the SCU, the Unit has limited resources and a process of downsizing is taking place. In the immediate term the CAVR should identify and list these cases and ensure that they are passed on to the East Timorese Police Service to enable ongoing monitoring and protection of 'at risk' cases. In addition, discussions on future CRP- type processes should give greater consideration to the problems raised by pending cases, including the potential for community discontent and violence if they are left unresolved. Clear guidelines in relation to protection of deponents need to be developed. Community Reconciliation Agreements A number of deponents have experienced a delay of two years in receiving a copy of the Community Reconciliation Agreement from the court, (providing immunity from future civil and criminal prosecution in future) In any future process, greater coordination with the court is required to ensure that CRA's are processed expeditiously. Reparations The CAVR did not intend to undertake a comprehensive reparations program, but rather, to make recommendations to the government in this regard. The issue of reparations is of critical importance to many victims, and there is a pervasive sense amongst many that the government has neglected them; in particular vulnerable groups such as widows and orphans. The CAVR's victim support program has made a good start in developing a reparations program and it would be important to evaluate the success of this scheme. The success of any future reconciliation processes will depend on further attention to the issue of reparations. It is unclear how much 'reconciliation' can achieve when there is a perception amongst victims of economic inequality. 48 Judicial System Monitoring Programme Rua Setubal, Kolmera, Dili East Timor Postal address: PO Box 275, Dili, East Timor Tel/Fax: (670) 390 3323 883 Mobile: +670 7233711 Email: info@jsmp.minihub.org 2